A man caught transporting waste without a licence after being stopped on the A1 in Nottinghamshire has been fined.

Carl Fairhurst was stopped on the A1 at Blyth as part of Operation Highway, a multi-agency operation between the Environment Agency, Nottinghamshire Police, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), HM Revenue and Customs, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and Via East Midlands.

Police asked him to pull into a check point at the services where his vehicle was examined and confirmed to be carrying waste.

He initially provided various different names, and claimed to be working for a number of different companies before finally identifying himself as Carl Fairhurst.

It was confirmed that he was self employed and he was unable to provide a valid waste carrier registration. During the search of the vehicle, Environment Agency officers established that Mr Fairhurst was working as a sub contractor to a multinational telecommunications company.

Mr Fairhurst, 44, who is based in Sheffield, appeared at Mansfield Magistrates' Court on October 12 when he was fined £120, ordered to pay Environment Agency costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £30.

Speaking after the case, Iain Regan, Waste Regulatory Specialist at the Environment Agency said: “We were concerned to find that in this case a blue chip telecommunications company was employing an unregistered waste carrier, which increased the risk that their waste would not be managed appropriately or legally.

"We promptly raised the matter with the company concerned, requiring them to take action to prevent possible further breaches of their Duty of Care.

"We are pleased to report that the company has since reviewed its procedures and checked its supply chain to ensure that its waste is managed legally in the future”

“We want householders and businesses to only use licensed waste carriers. Large companies have an important role to play in protecting the environment by only using legal waste management contractors. We hope the legitimate carriers in the industry see that we are taking action against free riders and illegal operators who seek to evade the system.”